Zhejiang scientists develop brain-controlled robotic hand

People might still be impressed by paralyzed Jake Sully’s operating an Avatar with his brain in the film “Avatar” or Professor X’s reading people’s mind, memory and even controlling them in the film “X-Men”.

Those might sound like something existing only in fictional art works, but it is not completely impossible for human beings.

The “Brain-Controlled Robot for Clinical Application Research Panel” jointly established by the neurosurgery department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine and Qiushi Academy of Advanced Studies of Zhejiang University announced on August 25 that they have successfully had robotic hands execute rock, scissors, and paper gestures controlled by human being’s brain.

This is the first success of such kind in China and it will bring hope to the handicapped, including ALS and stroke patients, who wish to move their body as they want.

The electroneurographic signals sent by human brain move muscles to do gestures, said Zhang Jianmin, director of the neurosurgery department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine. In their experiments, the signals, which are visible on computer monitors and called “brain waves”, are turned into movement and gestures of robotic hands. The frequencies of brain waves are quite different when human beings are under different emotions, and the development of brain waves is thus made possible.

The technologies Avatar presented are also utilized on British scientist Steven Hawking, who can only move his eyes to express his opinions. Scientists make use of the eye movement to interpret his ideas through signal analysis.

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